The Calling
by Count Kulalu
Summary: My entry in Rapidfyrez's OC Tournament staring Kulalu & Co. It started of as another day for the Guardians of Dimensions: The Unsung were beaten, a world was saved, and cake was earned. How did it end with Kulalu being separated from his friends, nearly powerless, and sent to a space station where he is forced to fight in a tournament run by a sadistic being named The Caretaker?
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: I know what I own, but the question is do you? Because I remember that I own my character and concepts, yet someone left these other properties lying around, so I thought I could play with them. My apologies for thinking I could do so. -;**

**So I heard Rapidfyrez had this OC Tournament going on. I figured that it might be the thing to get me back into writing stuff for the site again. I really had fun writing this piece. It was like getting back into the swing of something you thought you were too handicapped to do (no offense to anyone meant of course!).**

**This story also contains some spoilers for my future adventures involving the Guardians of Dimensions. Still, I hope they at least draw the right attention and give you an entertaining collection of words to read. Is this any good? Maybe, maybe not! At the very least, I hope you enjoy it for what it is. Now let's get this show on the road!**

* * *

**The Calling-Enter Kulalu**

**Prologue: It All Started As An Ordinary Day…**

* * *

The shinning crystal towers normally gave off a benevolent shine that displayed the magnificence of the city. That wasn't the problem. Pegasi and ponies adorned in armor ready for battle ran through its streets, armed to fight and busy providing cover for other of their ranks to help the crystal civilians find shelter to be safe from the battle ensuing around them. That wasn't the problem either. There were swarms of changelings flying through the skies above the city, flittering like bees defending their hive. They weren't the problem either oddly enough. No, this was a world where they were not the invading force of a tyrant, but rather the subjects of a loving empress. No the problem was with the force they were fighting to hold back from further occupying the Crystal Empire. Infestations of creatures ranging from short humanoids of many colors and sizes to larger brutish yet cartoony looking fighters were running rampant throughout the cityscape. Despite their many appearances, the common factor among their kind seemed to be the mark of what appeared to be a barbed musical note in the shape of a heart that was present on their person somewhere.

These creatures were known as the Unsung. They were malevolent beings that caused bedlam and destruction to the worlds they invaded. It was not entirely clear what they ultimately wanted to accomplish only that it involved spreading misery to the worlds as a whole. Fortunately they had once tried to take this world before and thus its defenders were more than ready to face these monstrosities with no hesitation. It would make any equestrian proud to know that the guard alone was enough to face these invaders and not need to resort yet to more extreme methods that seemed.

While the kingdoms own defenses were holding strong against this onslaught, they were not fighting alone. They had a force for good on their side; one that had made it its mission to face the threat of these creatures. They were tough, courageous, vigilant, and the pinnacle example of any force that took the oath to be defenders of the many dimensions. They were also one of the most ragtag groups anyone probably laid eyes on. They were the Guardians of Dimensions (or G.O.D. for short) and they were here to help save the world.

O

"ORBUS PUNCH!" shouted a small robot that could have been mistaken for a puppet. He had a black and white head with only and eye on the white half of it. The rest of his metal gears and parts were mostly silver or gold in hue.

The Unsung Paladin he punched, appearing like a cartoonish facsimile of a medieval knight went flying back and knocking over a great deal more Unsung Soldiers in the process.

"Good punch, Orbus! I believe he felt that one!" said a tall robot with a Scottish accent. He appeared to be made of gears and different metals of a silver, gold, and copper tone. He gave the impression that he was more like a butler than a fighter, yet he clearly had no problem shooting at the Unsung with a gear adorned gun while jumping in the way to take a hit for a nearby guard pony or changeling.

"You better believe it, Klank." A tiny robot declared while lifting his tiny noodle-like arms as if he were flexing for a fitness magazine. "I don't work out these big guns for nothing!"

Klank humored his mechanical friend. "Aye, you certainly make sure to 'work those curls for the girls' as the humans say."

"Enough foolishness! Let's finish this already!" cried a voice. The two robots turned to face the newcomer, only to find a face that was familiar to them.

It was a woman of slightly taller than the norm height with a brown hat, a white long sleeved buttoned shirt with a brown vest and black tie over it, as well as a pair of tan slacks that were covered by her black boots. She seemed to be of Asian descent, but neither machine was fooled by this human disguise, for both knew her true form. In truth, she was Machine Beast Tamer Keris a female robot (with a rather *ahem* buxom appearance) who once served as an officer and tamer of the Machine Beasts for King Bacchus Wrath. Two them, she was just Keris: a female who was skilled with a whip and enjoyed using it, especially at times on Klank.

"I thought you would be enjoying yourself, Keris." Orbus quipped as he flew onto her shoulder. "You have plenty of opponents to whip into shape."

"Humph!" She frowned while simultaneously using her whip to smack a few enemies away, while also ensnaring Unsung to toss into others. "This is barely a workout worth my time. I haven't even found a need to let loose into my proper shape."

"Oh I bet Klank is upset about that! Aren't you Klank?"

"Um, well, that is to say-Hey is that the queen!" He pointed immediately behind them.

"Hah! I'm not falling for that one again!" Orbus exclaimed before crossing his arms. "Every time I hear those words 'Hey is that whatever-whatever' it's never 'whatever'."

"Too bad, Orbus. I would have given you a kiss to make Shiny here jealous." a feminine voice joked.

"Huh!?" Orbus quickly turned his head to see who was standing there behind them. Low and behold, it was the regents in charge standing there with slight grins on their faces while also armed for battle.

The one who made the joke would be considered an odd one if you did not know her. Once she was appeared as a pink alicorn who was designated as Cadance the Princess of Love. After the events of her wedding, she now appeared as a more insectoid looking alicorn with a spring green body, a gnarled horn, a crown like crest on her head, and small holes along her hooves that were in the shape of hearts. Her wings were also no longer the feathered type, but rather the grand pair of a monarch butterfly. They were blue, like her main and tail, except her hair had strands of pink added in. This was Queen Chysalis, one of the ruling regents of the Crystal Empire.

Next to her was a unicorn stallion with white fur, and a blue mane and hooves. He wore a purple and gold armor set with the six pointed star emblem of his house in the front. He also had a magenta glowing aura surrounding himself and a drawn sword which was held with a grip of telekinetic magic. Despite the weapon, he seemed to prefer fighting off the Unsung with walls of shield magic that he would use to either knock them away, or box them in until they were crushed. This unicorn was Shining Armor, the other ruling regent of the Crystal Empire, and the husband of Chysalis.

"-Sigh- I've told you, Chryssie. Just because I won't kiss you when I have my Life Aura on, doesn't mean I don't want too. It just makes it awkward that you keep trying to when I'm in the middle of fighting."

"But you taste like Raspberries when you do!" She wined. "It adds flavor to the love."

No one knew what to say to that.

"Um, perhaps we could discuss this when we are not in the middle of a battlefield?" Shining asked, realizing that they were getting stares from everyone, and quite possibly the Unsung as well.

"Ugh! Fine! But this isn't over! I will get my fill of Raspberry flavored sweetness before this day is over!" She cackled as she charged into the fray, laughing in glee at the thought of how much love she would get to eat when all was said and done.

Klank was impressed at how well Shining took seeing his wife go straight into the fight.

"Normally a knight would show a slight bit of hesitation at seeing their queen go to battle."

"ROOOAAARRR!"

The now formed dragon breathed greenish flames down upon the Unsung as they tried to flee, only to find themselves making larger piles that provided bigger targets to burn to ash. Their efforts to escape were further hindered by Shining conjuring wall to trap them into one place.

"Yeah, well most knights aren't married to a Princess of Love who is also a Changeling Queen that can transform into a gigantic dragon."

"Touché." Klank replied as he readied his gun to get back into the fight. Still, whatever score he accumulated was shattered by the numbers Chrysalis was currently burning through.

It appeared that the queen had this battle well in hand. That is until the Unsung just seemed to stop in place. This seemed like an odd choice for them to do, especially since it made them more vulnerable, but to the three members of G.O.D., they knew what this meant.

"Uh-oh!" Orbus shook in dismay. "Looks like they decided to stop goofing off!"

The Unsung seemed to start shaking in place until they all simultaneously started to float up above the limits of the crystal building around them.

"My, she is certainly getting better with that." Klank complimented, knowing who the cause of this was.

"Yep, nobody can take on our Ace!" Orbus agreed.

"Still, I think it's time you lent a hand here, don't you think Orbus?" Keris smiled. Orbus caught on to her meaning and seemed to dance on her shoulder in excitement.

"Oh boy!" Orbus knew what this meant. "It's time to bring the BIG finale!"

He floated of Keris' shoulder and into the hands of Klank. As he did, he withdrew his arms, legs, and head into his body as he pullout out a handle for Klank to grip in his right.

"Aye, and let's make this a grand one to celebrate for days to come!" the Scottish sounding robot exclaimed as he pulled out Orbus' arm and began to swing him around like he was tossing a hammer. "Around, around, and away we go!"

Orbus flew a great distance up until he safely landed on the back of the now reverted Changeling Queen.

"Here, Chyrssie! A queen-sized gift fit for a queen!" Orbus giggled at his little joke. He then shot the energy beam that was produced by his Giant System to transmute her majesty into a gigantic version of herself.

"Oh thank you, Orbus. This is just what I needed!" her voice boomed through the air as she jumped and engulfed herself in green flames for another transformation. "Now to show these monsters why you should never think it's a good idea to attack here!"

Her transformation reached its epic conclusion as she achieved the form of a dragon even more massive and powerful looking than the last. With a mighty roar, she flew toward the gathered Unsung, only this time breathing out powerful streams of lightning, instead of flame. Still she would not be concluding this battle on her own, for two more individuals would be assisting with its conclusion.

O

On one of the roofs of a crystal skyscraper were the final members of this group. One was a young girl in her early teens that had short black hair with a white suit of clubs hairclip. She wore black lipstick and appeared to have black markings, possibly mascara, around her eyes that made them more distinct. She wore a leotard with long sleeves that was mostly white except for the portion near her right arm. She had a black suit of clubs above where her heart would be and also wore black boots. Tucked in her left arm was what appeared to be a tome bound in white leather with the cover appearing to be like the Ace of Clubs playing card. In her right hand however, was what appeared to be a silver handgun that she had pointing at her own head. She stared blankly at the multitude of Unsung floating helplessly in the sky in front of her with her eyes glowing in yellow spirals swirling into infinity.

"Good job, Ace! You have certainly improved by leaps and bounds since you started to get the hang of this." Said a voice behind her. "So, have you figured out how to take them out in one swoop yet?"

She did not turn to face the other person, not wanting to lose her focus. If she did, she would see a young man dressed in black, with a white squarish spiral on his shirt and a top hat. However, what stood out more about this gentleman was the mask he wore. It was half black and half white with a smile of the opposite colors painted on top. This was the world traveler, known by many names such as The Cosmic Clown, The Mischievous Madman, The Crazy Count, but mostly by his name: Kulalu. He twirled around an umbrella as he continued to watch the young girl utilizing her abilities.

"Look Ace, I know you don't like using it, but you got to stop being afraid of your power now."

Ace said nothing for a long while, before finally replying. "But if I use anything like Armageddon I could destroy this whole place."

Count Kulalu laughed at that as if she was kidding. He knew she was serious, but tried to convey to Ace that she was just worrying too much.

"C'mon Ace, I taught you to be better than that. You don't just think the end of the world and do it. You got to use your imagination! Think bigger!"

Bigger, huh? She could do that.

"**Mothra/Battra: Cry of the Earth!**"

She fired a round into her head, unleashing a clod of glowing shards that called upon two massive shapes. The shapes took the form of a pair of gigantic moths, one white and gentle looking, the other black, and appearing more violent. Together they caused a tornado that gathered all the Unsung while also blasting them with beams of energy that came from their antennae. Add in Chrysalis' attacks in her gigantic dragon form, and you hand all the Unsung destroyed in a matter of minutes!

The battle was finally over. Cheers rang out through the empire as the celebrated this victory.

Kulalu himself applauded at the victory thanks to Ace and the help of all of their friends today.

"Congratulations, Ace! That was a splendid spell!" He lifted his top hat to tip it to his younger teammate. "I tip my hat at you. Now let's go celebrate."

He threw his hat back on as he walked toward Ace, taking note of the now regular sized Chrysalis waving as she flew back toward the ground below. He waved back, noticing even Ace waved as well with a slight smile on her normally stoic face.

"So, how about we get some cake?" Kulalu asked as he opened his umbrella and grabbed hold of Ace as they jumped of the roof to join the others on the streets below.

"…I want ice cream, too."

The grin on Kulalu's mask widened at that. "Of course! Whatever you want, Ace. You've earned it today!"

She certainly did, as the cheers seemed to focus on the efforts of Ace alongside the queen. They landed safely on the ground and met up with everyone else. The celebration started soon after.

It was just another day in the lives of the Guardians of Dimensions.

O

So one again our heroes found themselves saving the day. After making sure that things would be alright for the rulers of the Crystal Empire (and helping to assure a rather distressed Alicorn Princess and her friends recently arriving by train that her Brother and the Empire was alright ) they said their farewells and made their promises to meet again. They then boarded their transport out of the world.

That method took the form of a train that had the appearance of a black steam engine with black cars that where coated with shining stars. This was the marvelous locomotive known as the S.T.A.R.L.I.G.H.T. (Special Train and Realm of Limitless Imagination Giving Happiness and Tranquility) and was the place these individuals considered home when they weren't exploring what the different dimensions have to offer. It ran steadily through the rifts between worlds on tracks that seemed to appear before it.

"Whew! Another battle, another world saved, and another kiss of thanks from a princess!" Orbus gleefully cheered as he grabbed a plate of cake from the fancily set table the five sat at. "Life is good for Orbus!"

Kalnk sat at his place at the table, with a nice cup of oil in his hand. "Aye, it's good to hear that, Orbus. However, how many times must I tell you that you can't eat cake?"

"Hey, I can dream Klank!" The tiny robot protested with cake smeared all over his little face in his poor attempts to eat it. This caused Keris and Ace to break into smiles as once again the little robot faled to admit that he just wasn't built with an eating function.

It seemed things were normal for the Guardians of Dimensions. That is, except for what Klank seemed to notice about Kulalu's activities.

"Is something wrong, sir?" He asked the Count who seemed to be paying more attention to his own compendium than the slice of cheesecake he would usually be eating with gusto.

"I've never seen the Unsung just attack a place like that. Normally, they have a more powerful member of their ranks target a specific person of the world and just go through their usual song and dance of trying to use their inner darkness to unravel the world." Kulalu pondered this while checking the pages of his compendium. "Yet this group seemed to be just attacking with no sense of direction. They didn't even go for the Crystal Heart."

"Do you think they were after something else?" Keris asked before taking a sip from a teacup.

"Who knows? Maybe there is something we overlooked when we-"

-THUMP!-

The train shook violently as if something crashed into the back of it. The sudden interruption wasn't enough to stop the train, but it was definitely enough to shake up its passengers in the dining car. The table was a bit messy, but fortunately no one was knocked out of their seats.

Kulalu was the quickest to get on his feet. "That came from the back of the train!"

At this, they all got up and rushed down the cars, to get to the end. Each quickly armed themselves whether it was Keris readying her whip, Kulalu holding out his umbrella, or even Orbus wielding a serving tray lid as a shield with a butter knife in his other hand. All of them were ready to fight whatever it could be. When they got to the final car however, they couldn't find anything there.

"No signs of any trouble." Kulalu remarked as he stepped into the last car, making sure to keep the others back as he explored it. "Maybe it was just a bit of turbula-"

Suddenly, the entire train seemed to shake violently with a great deal of force that threw everyone about the car interior.

"Everybody hold on!" Kulalu shouted as he spun around alone in the last cabin.

It seemed this one car was causing the entire train to violently shake. If it kept it up, the train might end up getting destroyed in the rift. Knowing they couldn't risk that, Kulalu did the only thing he could think of to remedy the situation.

"KLANK!" He shouted. "Pull the lever! If you don't we'll be knocked of the track and fly into the void!"

Klank gazed at the emergency lever that would separate the car from the rest of the train. "But-"

"JUST DO IT!" Kulalu Shouted again. He was holding tightly to his hat and umbrella as they tried to fly away from him in the turbulent motion. "I'll jump back onto the train before it gets away! Just pull the lever!"

Klank seemed to hesitate, but nodded as he hurried to pull down the emergency disconnect. The moment he did, the last car pulled away from the rest of the train. Only instead of just stopping in place on the track and giving Kulalu time to jump off like he planned, it vanished completely, taking Kulalu with it.

"Where did he go?"Keris asked in worry. Ace seemed to huddle near her, worry clear in her eyes.

Klank and Orbus looked towards one another, but at neither knew the answer to that.

"I don't know, but we'll find him." Klank promised trying to sound confident at that declaration.

That didn't do anything to alleviate their fear of never seeing the Crazy Count again.

O

He didn't know where he was; only that it wasn't the S.T.A.R.L.I.G.H.T. and there was no cake. Or at least if there was, it was a lie! He appeared to be in some sort of dark and decrepit hallway, on a space station perhaps? Well, in any case, he was at least alive, which was good.

"Well, that wasn't the best idea I ever had." He straightened his clothing and hat. "Still at least I'm in one piece…wherever I am."

He nonchalantly spun around his umbrella as he looked around, but could see and hear no sign of life. There was only the sense of ruin and weariness embedded in these decrepit walls. This worried him, but he decided to not linger too much on it. He had friends to get back to after all. Suddenly an idea occurred to him that he was surprised he didn't think of before: He was a user of the power of imagination!

"I'll just make a doorway to get back." He raised his hand to conjure up a door using his powers of imagination. Only, nothing happened. So he tried again. Still nothing.

"C'mon! It's not that hard to imagine a door!" His voice strained with exertion for something that should be as easy to him as breathing. "It's….errrr!...something that opens and….errr!...then you are home! Arrgh! Why don't you appear-"

_**"Having a little trouble there?"**_ said a voice echoing throughout the halls.

The voice was dark and aged like even time wore it away into something rough and disfigured. Immediately, Kulalu didn't like it for in his experience as a world traveler such voices meant you were a subject to someone's game.

"So…I suppose it's you I have to thank for my arrival." Kulalu cried out, while looking around for some sign of the voices source.

_**"Guilty as charged."**_ The voice answered with no indication as to its source. The Crazy Count decided that whoever it was would like to remain anonymous for now, so he lessoned his search for the method the voice was traveling and just spoke back to it with his usual rebuttal for villain types.

"So….how can I help you, my good sir?" Kulalu sarcastically asked with his gleeful voice.

_**"Why you can help me by providing me with…some entertainment."**_

"Well I normally could provide a few good card tricks, some old fashioned prestidigitation, and maybe a musical number, but it appears SOMEONE-not naming any names or pointing any fingers-has decided to negate my imaginative powers. Again, not saying who, but that is not a very nice thing to do for someone you dragged from a decent cake he was sharing with his friends."

_**"HAHAHAHAH! You really are a clown! But that's not what I meant and you know it."**_

The masked man seemed to drop a bit at that. Now he was getting an idea as to what he was in for.

"-Sigh- Figures. Let me guess, this is going to be some life or death game where only if I win I get to see my friends again."

_**"More like a…tournament to the death…or a real Battle Royale, but you seem to get the gist of it."**_

"Right." He clenched his fists and the handle of his umbrella tighter, at hearing the joy in the being's voice at the mere mention of death. Having it in a tournament format suggested that others were dragged into this like he was. That meant that there was definitely a chance someone would get seriously injured, or even killed. If there was one thing he despised, it was entertainment at the cost of others. "And if I say no?"

_**"Then you can just go your merry way."**_ The voice calmly stated, before breaking into more sinister laughter. _**"Oh wait, you can't! HAHAHAHA!"**_

Kulalu started laughing along as well.

"HaHaHAHaHAHA-You think I'm really just going to go along with this?" He crossed his arms as the expression on his mask morphed into a frown.

_**"Oh, does the Cosmic Clown think he can't handle having the lives of others in his hands?"**_

'Cosmic Clown?' the masked man thought this might be a clue of the voice's identity.

Kulalu knew that title some labeled him, but it was not as well known throughout the worlds as one would think. Whoever this was clearly had something against him that might have reached a personal level.

"Oh no! That part I can handle just fine. Yay….fighting to the bloody end….wooooh." He weakly cheered. "No, what I have a problem with is your sense of sportsmanship. I mean, here I am, dragged onto what I guess is a coliseum, pretty much powered down and you haven't even given me so much as a wooden sword."

_**"Hmm, I suppose I could grant you a boon. Never let it be said that I didn't give guests of the Caretaker a fighting chance for what little it did for them."**_

"See, there you go. Was that so difficul-" He stopped when he realized what the voice said. "Wait, did you say THE Caretaker?"

Now that worried him. In all his travels, there were few that Kulalu would make sure to stay clear of to avoid there malevolence. The Caretaker was definitely on that list of things to avoid when traversing the realms. He heard the tales about this being whispered among seedier sections of the universe. Older than is comprehensible, The Caretaker said to be legendary in its sadistic revelry in the pain and suffering of others. Specifically it loved to watch the suffering of those that found themselves in its arena, where sixteen poor souls were forced to fight if they wish to leave alive.

If that was the case, then he knew were this speaker dragged him to. He was on S-6-S; a place that not even he dared to tread. Now that he knew, he would have to exercise absolute caution for who knew whatever else was dragged over her and trapped with him.

_**"So you've heard of him. Good. That makes this easier."**_

Kulalu said nothing in reply. He just nodded his head, knowing that the being was probably capable of watching him from anywhere on this station.

_**"So here is all you have to do: play the game, follow MY rules, and you'll find the way back home."**_

"That's it?"

_**"Assuming of course the other competitors don't end your life, then yes, it's that simple."**_

'So the other competitors might be forced to end each other permanently. Granted, they might be trapped as well in this little game, or even fighting for what they believe is right, but for all I know they might be the type that would do anything to enter this fight knowing they will get the chance to off someone for power.' Kulalu thought as he readied his umbrella. 'I may have to play for keeps if I want to get out of here. Hopefully it won't come to that.'

_**"Now for your gift!"**_

A light flicked on in the distance, casting a ray upon a box in the middle of the hallway. Kulalu cautiously approached it, and even went as far as to open it with the tip of his umbrella. As the lid swung up, he immediately had his umbrella open, ready to protect him from the explosion from a bomb. Only nothing seemed to occur.

He carefully looked over his umbrella, and gazed at the contents of the box. What he found was disconcerting to say the least. It seemed to be a handgun, made of black metal, with engravings of some language written along the barrel. A Suit of Club was engraved on the handle. Kulalu closed his umbrella and picked up the gun, inspecting it carefully. He knew what it really was. He he helped Ace make a similar thing after all.

"An evoker? You're giving me an evoker? After going through the trouble of negating my imaginative abilities, you are giving me a more focused, albeit limited way to use them. Why?"

It seemed nonsensical, until the Caretaker answered why he was granting this gift with sadistic glee.

_**"So you can call upon the power of those futile bonds you hold dear to you in that little black book you keep on you…But every time you use that evoker, you'll feel the pain of doing what it should be doing…Blowing your brains out!" **_The Caretaker cackled madly at the idea. _**"The best part is that it's as if those very beings you claim to cherish are causing you pain every time you ask for their help!"**_

So that was it. Whoever this person was knew of the compendium he carried on his person at all times, and found a way to twist its power and sentimentality it gave to him. More disturbingly, this villain came up with it just to provide more pleasure to one of the cruelest beings of legend. Whoever this was, they too were probably on that list of sadists.

Kulalu considered his situation carefully. So far, it did not have that many options or ideas as to who the voice could be. 'So in the end I have two villains I have to deal with for sure. Not sure who one is, other than that he wants me to suffer in a game held by one of the most sadistic beings in existence. Could be worse, I suppose. He had the power to drag me out of the rift. He could have just killed me instead of watching me squirm. At least I have a chance to get out of this alive. '

"I can deal with pain well enough. The question is can you deal with the fact that I'm coming after you when all is said and done?" Kulalu pocketed the evoker, and pointed his umbrella as he issued his challenge to the one running this ruin of a space station.

_**"By all means, try your best. It will make it even more gratifying when you fall and end up trapped here forever…Assuming of course you live long enough to do so!"**_

And with that, after giving off one last bout of laughter, the voice ceased to sound from the halls. This left Kulalu alone with only himself and his thoughts to accompany him. Still, he tried to pep himself up for what seemed to be a long task that needed to be accomplished.

"Klank…Orbus…Keris…Ace…I'm gonna fight, and while I know you aren't here, you will be fighting with me." He affirmed. The serious look on his mask then broke into his familiar smiling face. "When this is over, I'm taking us all on a long vacation, maybe to a beach or a lake. We could have a camp out and s'mores. That would be fun."

The Masked man leant his umbrella against his shoulder and began to march towards what he felt was the direction to go. Whether it was to victory, or doom, he couldn't really say, only that he hoped for the first more than the later.

* * *

**To be continued…?**

* * *

**Can Kulalu gain a winning streak and stop the Caretaker's goals of watching competitors suffer for his enjoyment?**

**What will happen once the other competitors meet up?**

**Will they be willing to ally themselves with our Crazy Count, or will they go straight for the killing blow?**

**Will Kulalu see his friends again?**

**And who is this mysterious stranger that has dragged him into this situation in the first place?**

**Find out all this and more, next time on The Calling!**


	2. Round 1

**Disclaimer: I own my characters. But there are some other characters that appear here that I don't own. How did they get here!?-;**

**So I made it to Round 1 of Rapidfyrez's OC Tournament. My opponent was none other than Ultimate10! So I just want to say that I tried my best to do justice to his character, and I hope that he can enjoy this chapter as much as I did writing it. With that said, let's get into this piece!**

**This story may also contain some spoilers for my future adventures involving the Guardians of Dimensions. Still, I hope they at least draw the right attention and give you an entertaining collection of words to read. Is this any good? Maybe, maybe not! At the very least, I hope you enjoy it for what it is. Now let's get this show on the road!**

* * *

**The Calling-Enter Kulalu**

**Round 1: Tempered in Lava (Or Weasels Burn My Flesh!)**

* * *

It had been a good long while of strolling through the halls, but it had finally gotten to him. Kulalu was bored. He was also worried, and had good reason to be. The halls of the station were aged and dark, and the feeling of the place was only more unsettling due to the signs of gothic architecture here and there. Yet he had not encountered so much as a spider in this time he spent wandering about.

"Boy, I could sure use a map right about now." Kulalu sighed aloud as he continued to twirl his umbrella while walking. "Maybe even a snack, or something at least to pass the time."

Such complaints may seem trivial, but for Kulalu, they were his way of coping with the situation he was trapped in. At the same time, his mind was still occupied with attempts to identify the one and how to deal with being without his usual powers and resources.

The problem wasn't that Kulalu never prepared for such an occurrence, or at least not entirely. No, the issue came from the fact that this mysterious being was so thorough in ringing him here and ensuring he had no help. His kidnapping took place during a time where he wouldn't be prepared to fight, because for the most part no one could even be aware of the S.T.A.R.L.I.G.H.T.'s existence and whereabouts when it traveled through the rifts. Thus, this antagonist must not only be extremely powerful, but also had to possess a great deal of knowledge about the world traveler on a personal level.

"Every enemy I could think of just doesn't match up to the crime." Kulalu pondered. "Any world conqueror I've ticked off in our encounters would have rather tried to kill me off in the void, not send me here to die. It can't be Ulala, she and I were on more civilized terms last time we encountered one another. Could it be the Unsung? Maybe some kind of leader in their numbers? Another one of Paradox's mistakes? Errr! I just don't know!"

His musings were interrupted by the sounds of footsteps echoing in the halls. The masked traveler immediately jumped at the chance to meet, whoever this was. Be they friend, or foe at least they would be someone to talk to in this empty place. Hopefully they would more than likely be the former so that way there could be a better chance of getting off this station alive.

Eventually, after much more walking through the desolate hallways, he finally came across the source of the footsteps: It was another person!

He was dressed in a reddish-orange long coat with orange highlights, black pants, black leather boots, and a black tricorne hat. He was standing tall at a good height with his body being semi-muscular and rather lanky. His facial features included a long and sharp chin, and eyes of a charcoal gray hue. With all that said, what seemed to be the tipping point of his appearance was his long, black hair with bangs that are tipped with red dye. That and he kept one hand constantly on the sword that was sheathed and hanging from his back.

"Hello! How do you do? My name is Kulalu!" He tipped his hat. "What's your name, sir?"

The man turned to face him as if waiting for something to occur. When nothing happened, he seemed to decide that the only way to proceed from here was to respond to this strange masked gentleman.

"Humph, I suppose I can grant you the courtesy of knowing my name." The orange garbed man replied curtly. "I am Joe Magtartus. Master of the Rabid Weasels."

Kulalu wasn't familiar with anything in that sentence. So of course, he had to ask questions, starting out with the thing that stuck out the most.

"Rabid Weasels?" Kulalu asked with honest curiosity. "Is that like a band, or are you really the leader of a group of furry animals?"

An annoyed tic mark appeared on Joe's forehead at the question. "What?"

Immediately, the crazy count's hands went up in defense. "Hey, I mean no offense, just want to clarify it. In my experience, both are actually plausible answers, believe it or not!"

This barely kept the man's temper from a boiling point. "For your information, it happens to be one of the most powerful mage guilds in all of Fiore."

'Ah! A Fiorian. This might not be a bad person to try to reason with.' Kulalu hoped. He didn't want to make enemies with the first person he met in this place. Perhaps playing to his accomplishments might make him easier to talk about some form of alliance here.

"Really? Wow! So that means you beat Fairy Tail, right?" A large fist of lava suddenly flew at his face. Years of honed reflexes allowed him to jump and roll out of the way. "WHOAH!"

The magical circle that fist came from faded as Magtartus lowered his hand and stood ready to draw his sword. "I will show you exactly why that guild is a paltry band of weaklings compared to me!"

Kulalu got up, and wiped the dust off his clothes. At least now he knew for certain that this guy was in fact a mage.

"Yeesh, what's your problem? You act like you are part of a…" He then figured it out. "Oh great, you're a dark guild member."

"Oh I more than just some mere dark guild member." He smiled with ill intent as he slowly drew out his blade from the sheath. "I'll be sure to show you that."

It was a sword that had a handle of steely black metal. The blade itself was curved and actually composed of molten rocks and magma. Searing flames and heat could be seen emanating from its edges, displaying its dangerous ability to not only cut, but to burn with ferocious intensity. The moment the magma it appeared to be composed of glowed brighter, the mage charged at his opponent with a mighty blow meant to slice him in half from shoulder to hip.

The blow never came though, thanks to Kulalu's umbrella. Instead of being sliced through, or even showing a hint of melting due to the contact of the magma blade, the umbrella stood strong and kept the blow meant to deliver a fiery death at bay. This startled Magtartus for a moment, but then it made him more enraged, and so he drew back before unleashing an outbreak of furious strikes against the masked man before him.

Despite not using an actual sword, the crazy count showed great skill in swordplay. Each blow that was made in an attempt to strike him down was blocked by this wondrous item that he held. No matter which way Joe struck, whether it be for a leg, or a shoulder, Kulalu was able to move in such a way to prevent each strike from touching him. Finally the two mashed their blades against the other in one big attempt to strike down the other where he stood. Kulalu could feel the heat that radiated off the molten blade, causing condensation to slowly glaze over his mask due to the proximity alone. The heat however did not appear to affect Magtartus in any way however.

"Hmmm, the leader of the Rabid Weasels. I SUPPOSE that makes you good enough to be my opponent." Kulalu quipped as he continued to press back against the incoming attack.

"And what are you implying with that?"

"Well, it's just that all I have here is this handy dandy, umbrella." He tilted his head toward where it crossed with the mage's sword. The smile on his masked appeared to grow wider as he continued with his point. "While I'm sure that sword is nice and toasty, it certainly is not tough enough to even scrape my weapon in hand."

"I'll show you who's the weak one!" he jumped back and began a series of faster strikes with his blade. It seemed to be now enshrouded in a larger tongue of flame, and the heat coming off of it was now leaving deep black plumes of smoke. Despite the increase in his opponets intensity towards the fight, Kulalu saw this as playing out as he planned it.

_'Good, he's mad. Men who get mad make mistakes, and swordsmen get predictable.'_

Suddenly, something large and glowing molten orange flew at him. Kulalu thrust propelled his umbrella forward, opening it, and crouching low so that he would not get hit. The sudden impact, and the searing heat that he could hear coming off of the fabric told him that it was something burning. The matter drip off of it like rainwater made him grateful for whatever trace of his power that remained in his umbrella.

_'Of course, that also assumes you only use your sword to fight, and not just haphazardly spout something as dangerous as lava everywhere!'_

"Do you finally see what a fool you are to challenge me?" Magtartus shouted maniacally as his blade's tongue of flames seemed to now drip with freshly heated drops of lava. "Now you can either surrender, or run! Either way ends with you as a charred corpse to be melted down into oblivion!"

_'Only one thing I can do…Hide!'_

Kulalu threw his open umbrella at the lava mage's face. While not a lethal blow by any stretch of the imagination, it did its job of momentarily blinding him. As he knocked it away, he came to discover that the masked man that he was fighting was no longer in front of him.

"So you decided to run. HA! Just like a coward and a fool to do when in the face of their superior!" He bellowed as he began his search for him. "Now where are you?"

The masked man was actually hiding behind debris in the opposite direction of Joe was heading. He knew he didn't have long to come up with anything to counteract him before he was caught. Different facts rushed through his head as he tried to come up with something that would give him a chance to win.

_'Ok, let's go over everything we know. This guy shoots magical lava. That means: a) he's able to melt you with a direct hit. b) he is probably the type who wouldn't bat an eye at being set on fire himself; so close range combat is a no. c) he is currently melting the walls, floor, and ceiling and making them SUPER HOT!'_

"YEOUCH!" Kulalu backed away from the cover as he hurried to find another spot. The lava was spreading farther into the room. It was all thanks to the lava's mage's blade which was now expelling slashes of lava that superheated the wall, ceiling and floor of the hallway into a melting state. Their surfaces were not only hot, but also dripped molten slag like leaks from the rain. The area was much more dangerous to be in to say the least.

The mage seemed to have no problem walking on the melting floor. He almost lazily dragged his blade along and ignored all the lava that seemed to puddle out below his feet.

"Are you going to come out quietly, or do I have to melt this place down on top of us?" He shouted out. "Either way, I win!"

_'That idiot!'_ Kulalu shouted in his mind, staring out as he hid in another hiding spot. While he wasn't sure the mage knew the ultimate result of his actions if he continued to heat up the hallway, the masked man could guess them pretty well. Even if he melted the entire place down and survived the searing heat of the molten metal, he would send them both into the void of space, more likely to die of decompression. Kulalu was in no mood to test if he could survive being in space, but he couldn't come up with any alternative options…except one.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out the evoker. The mysterious voice had yet to speak to him again, but his words still rang heavily in his mind. This was going to be painful, but there was no other way to get out of this mess.

He slowly stepped out of his hiding spot and walked slowly to Magtartus. The mage turned to face him as he came into his view ready to strike him with a searing slash of lava. He stopped however when he saw Kulalu raise the apparent pistol to his head, ready to fire.

"Well, it looks like you can't take the heat after all." The mage laughed. "Fine, I suppose I can allow you to go out on your own terms."

Kulalu said nothing in retort. He stood stock still like a statue. However, his hand was shaking.

**_'When was the last time you felt this fear?'_** The voice seemed to echo again in his mind. Whether it was really speaking or not was something the masked man was not currently concerned with. _**'Was it when you faced down the Unsung the first time? The day you could no longer face the one who wanted to be yours? Or was it when you realized that Ace's fate is inevitable? '**_

Kulalu ignored the tirade and everything else around him. He was more concerned with if this would really work or if it was just part of a ruse to make him die while thinking he had hope.

"I just put it to my head…and pull the trigger…no chickening out…"

"Then do it then!" Joe shouted. "Just get it over with you fool!"

"I told you. My name is Ku-"

"-la-"

"-lu!"

**-Bang!-**

It only took a bit of pressure from his finger as he exhaled. The gun fired and for a moment, Kulalu felt nothing. Then the pain kicked in.

The pain was dense as if it was pulling out marbles from the inside of his skull. It was as if his body was in confusion of how he could be alive when he just took a killing blow. There was now a debate on what he should be preserving within not just his physical form, but his mental state as well. He felt like he was dying but he wasn't; it was a painful sense of limbo that nearly drove him to his knees.

He called out for the first person he could think of. Someone who always seemed to be ready to defend him after all they had been through.

"**Klank**! Defend me!"

Before the mage could figure out what was happening and how this masked man didn't die from a shot directly to the head, glowing shards of what appeared to be glass flew from the nonexistent wound with enough force to knock off the top hat. The shards spiraled around, until they appeared to morph into the physical manifestation of a robot that appeared to be made of clockwork and gears. The newly summoned robotic butler ran up to Joe and delivered an uppercut that knocked him back.

"Klank!" Kulalu shouted in hope at seeing his friend. Maybe this power could provide a way to escape after all.

The robotic butler seemed to turn before disappearing. The masked man sighed in disappointment as he began to reach down for his hat.

_'So, it really is just a figment-'_

At the sight of the glowing circle on the ground, he jumped back to avoid the incoming pillar of lava. His hat was knocked back by the blast with singes clearly visible upon it.

"So, you're some king of suicidal celestial mage, I take it?"

Joe got back up on his feet, massaging his jaw a bit after taking the hit from the imaginary robot.

"Something like that." Kulalu straightened himself out. "I can see that you're not the type to hold back."

"Why hold back? I got places to be." He declared with his sword pointed at the masked man's direction. "And you're in my way of getting to them."

"I suppose I can agree with you there." Kulalu pointed the evoker once again at his head, ready to fire. "I too have places to be and you being in MY way is certainly not helping me get to them faster!"

"Then let's fix that!" he spun his sword, forming a large magical circle. "Lava Blast!"

"**Po: Inner Peace!**"

**-Bang!-**

From the shards of his mind, an anthropomorphic panda in golden, but stitched up shorts appeared in front of Kulalu. With slow and steady movement the panda grabbed onto the incoming comet of lava, and reversed its direction back to the castor. It was a direct hit. The only problem was that it was as effective as throwing a snow cone at a regular person.

"I can swim in this stuff!" Joe Magtartus jeered. "Did you really think I couldn't take a measly hit from it?"

"For a moment, I was really hoping." Kulalu sighed. So much for the old reversal strategy. He needed to come up with another plan and fast. The pain of using the evoker, while not too bad now, would undoubtedly become too unbearable to withstand the longer this fight was prolonged. Add in the factors of the intense heat and the fatigue bearing down on him, and Kulalu knew that his window of opportunity was dwindling down. He needed to hurry if he wanted to end this quickly.

'Maybe if I could move fast enough, I could avoid getting burned while hiting him? Worth a shot!'

"**Sonic: Spindash!**"

**-Bang!-**

A blue anthropomorphic hedgehog with red shoes appeared before Kulalu. However, instead of attacking Magtartus, it seemed to envelop the masked man, before he himself crouched into a ball, spun into a blurring motion, and then leapt at the lava mage.

"What in the name of-" Joe was knocked back into a wall before he could finish. The black ball bounced off, and into a spot on the wall across that was not melted. It bounced right off, and started coming for Magtartus for another hit. The mage hurried to his feet and readied his sowrd to deter the ball back, only finding that his strike only bounced it back to the wall without bursting into flames. It seemed to high speed that Kulalu was spinning prevented him from getting burned so long as the contact was minimal. He constantly bounced off the wall, and back at the mage. Joe could only get a few hits with his blade at the spinning black ball, but that only would cause it to bounce back onto another wall and gain another chance to slam into him again.

This went on for a while, before it seemed that Kulalu could spin no more, and so he fell from midair, and landed on the ground next to a wall. He slowly picked himself up, ignoring the pain from the wall's heat due to the pain in his head becoming less bearable in comparison.

"Oh! I'm making a note, to never do that again, especially with such a headache!" He groaned, feeling the room spin. Before he could stand up straight, he was knocked against the wall, with his neck being burned by the scalding touch of Magtartus's left hand covered in some form of molten armor. In his right, ready to deal the finishing blow was his magma blade, emitting flames that burned by their heat alone.

"Any last words?" He asked the masked man, while ready to launch a strike point blank, tightening his hold on Kulalu against the wall.

"Y-y-yeah." Kulalu struggled to get out. The heat was unbearable. The burning grip on his neck was intolerable. Add in the pain gnawing at his head and it was all an insufferable formula that gave him only one thing left to do.

He then revealed his evoker was in fact still in his hand. He pointed it to under his jaw, causing Magtartus's eyes to widen. He didn't hesitate to fire, knowing that despite the pain, he got the lava spewing mage right where he wanted him.

"**Let It Go!**"

**-Bang!-**

Kulalu's head flew back against the wall while expelling a flurry of luminescent shards from his head. They flew out and formed in the center of the hallway into a woman adorned in icy blue royal garments, and possessing a pale blonde head of hair and complexion that reflected the feeling of ice and snow.

Before Joe Magtartus could even do so much as to ready his sword to strike the woman, she spread her arms, and conjured a blizzard that could have turned an entire mountainside into a winter wonderland.

A explosion of ice and snow filled the hallway. As the seconds flew by a sheet of watery crystal glazed itself over every debris and surface. The ultimate result when it finally ceased with the woman's disappearance was frosty to say the least. Just looking at the scenery was enough to give a person the cold shivers. It was further amplified by the silence of it all. Not a sound or sign of movement could be seen from anywhere. It was as if time itself had frozen over.

There was one thing standing out in this frozen diorama of a space station's hallway in winter. When everything icy and motionless, there was still the barely surviving Kulalu. Although he struggled to remain up on his feet do to the strain of the evoker's shots and the battle bearing down on his body, he seemed unharmed by the cold.

"It seems you were right, Elsa." He joked as he twitched slightly due to the pain. "The cold never bothered you after all!"

He gave a short giggle, but found it his body too aching to continue it. Besides, he didn't want to strain himself more with this next crazy action he planned on doing. He reached for the now chilled remains of his hat and placed it back upon his head with as much dignity as he could muster.

"Let's see if this will work." He slowly lifted the evoker to his head, hoping that this wouldn't be the shot that ended him. "**Fix-It Felix Jr.:** Fix me up!"

**-Bang!-**

A short cartoony looking handyman appeared before the crazy count. The aptly named Fix-It Felix Jr. took out a golden hammer and gently tapped Kulalu wears he seemed to be injured and his clothing seemed to be damaged. However, instead of dealing damage, each hit repaired his clothing and treated his wounds good as new! By the time he disappeared, Kulalu was back to his formal and well groomed self with a swing in his step once again.

"Well, it didn't make my headache go away, but at least that healed everything else!" At this declaration, Kulau took off his top hat and tossed it into the air, having it land back in place on his head where it belonged. "Even my hat is fixed! HA! Now that's a lucky break!"

However, he noted there was one thing missing from his person: his umbrella. He looked around the frozen debris for it. It didn't take him long to find it, for it was near the now frozen lava mage, probably due to being swept up in the blizzard.

Joe Magtartus, lava mage and Leader of the Rabid Weasels guild was now in an icy cocoon, unable to move. He was posed as if he was blocking a strike at his face, while his sword found itself stabbed in the ground next to him made inert be the artic coating encompassing it. His powers over heat and lava seemed to be negated by the cold. However, it was probably because of them that he was still alive, albeit trapped in this glacial prison.

"Don't worry, I'll chip you out. A fire guy like you won't get frostbite." Kulalu snickered, feeling a bit better at knowing the fight was now over due to his opponent being for all intenat and purposes incapacitated. "Although, I think you might take this time to cool off for a while!"

If the lava mage could roll his eyes to the bad pun, he would've.

"By the way, want to know a secret?" Kulalu looked around suspiciously before moving towards the mage's ear and whispered into it. "Surrender or run are not the only options I have against guys like you. Just keep that between us, ok?"

He gave the frozen Joe Magtartus, a good natured pat on the shoulder before walking away. Suddenly, he turned and ran right up to him, jumped up, and kicked him with enough force to knock him back and onto the ground. The ice cracked around his form, as steam seemed to emit from it. Yet, it still wasn't enough to free the mage or grant him the ability to speak, only sufficient to provide him with air to prevent suffocating.

"Ooops! Looks like he didn't shatter!" Kulalu shouted dramatically while comically shrugging his shoulders. "Guess I must suck at dishing out fatalities. Oh well, it looks like he'll just have to live with the fact that he lost to a crazy powerless guy like me!"

He then walked away from the frozen hallway, singing a tune about ice and snow and how there is some miser who is all about the stuff. Despite that last bout of silliness, he knew he got his point across to those he knew where watching him throughout the entire fight.

_"I'll play the game, but don't expect me to play it like some assassin getting free thrills, cause that's not who I am!"_

O

This message, while unspoken, was made clear to the being watching the fight since its beginning. Normally he would have sent more things their way to make the fight more interesting. This time however, he decided not too for the chance that it could have ended things too quickly. If there was one thing that could be boring in a fight, it was when things ended too quickly…as well as painlessly, but the chances for that were slim.

Still, this transgression against his idea of fun would not be ignored.

"So you decided to not lay the finishing blow after all, huh?" The Caretaker sneered. "Well, I hate to give the impression that I don't punish those who would dare disrupt the way the tournament is meant to play out."

He motioned for a series of buttons on his control panel that would unleash a number of 'security safeguards' that would be unleashed upon the masked count and the opponent who lost to him. While the one named Kulalu might have a chance to confront them, the same could not be said for the lava mage from Fiore. Before he could push them however, he was stopped by the sound of static coming up from one of his screens.

**_"You should probably let him go."_**

The multi-limbed overseer of S-6-S seemed to almost frown at the intrusion of the voice. "Oh, and you think you can tell me what to do?"

**_"Oh, no, it's not that at all."_** The voice emitting from the static countered. The static screen then focused on the frozen Magtartus, zooming in on his face, showing a frozen expression that was more akin to despair than anger. **_"See, death is too quick and painless for that one. Sure he will probably emit the absolute sense of despair were his life to end at this moment knowing he lost, but it will be too quick to properly enjoy."_**

The screen then once again became the static.

**_"No, if you let him live, knowing that he gave it his all, was given a weakened opponent, and still lost in such an embarrassing fashion while seeing his opponent not even finding him worth finishing off, that self-loathing will fester, bringing him more suffering. And with more suffering, it becomes even more hilarious to watch!"_**

The screen then focused on Kulalu, who was walking through the halls, and appeared to have come across some form of med-kit in the debris and remains of past fighters. He could be seen taking some pills, probably to treat his lingering headache from using the evoker.

**_"As for Kulalu. He may have won this round, but not without cost. He's learned that his power now comes with a price. Even more so, it is one he can avoid if he goes straight for the killing blow, which he may be more inclined to do seeing how his first opponent was one who sought power, not an 'alliance'."_**

The way the voice said that word further radiated the disdain it apparently had for Kulalu's inclination to form bonds with others.

_**"Rest assured, if anything, Kulalu realizes that he hasn't won. He's only been spared…for now!"**_

The Caretaker's manic grin seemed to widen even more deviously than usual at that reasoning.

"Well, now, that changes everything!" The Caretaker clapped his hands at this chance for more things to amuse him. "Very well then. I suppose killing the mage of now would spoil the chance to see him suffer with the loss…as well as what will occur when that master he now follows arrives to pick up the newest failure in that new pack of underlings he has! HeeHEE!"

Oh yes, The Caretaker would be sure to watch out for when that happened. The so called villains of the universe tended to come up with some of the most entertaining punishments to condemn their underling to for their failures.

"I suppose I could let the Cosmic Clown further explore the marvels of my wonderland!" Oh how he looked forward to showing them to him and everyone else in the second round. "Still, you realize his luck cannot hold out for much longer."

_**"Of course. Still, we cannot help but to admire him for his delusions that he has a chance. He still has another round to go before even facing the worst that your station has to offer."**_

The Caretaker cackled in agreement as the voice seemed to take this opportunity to leave. Before the static faded, a symbol appeared briefly on the screen. It looked like a squarish spiral that was barbed. It was almost like the emblem of the Unsung.

* * *

**To be continued…?**

* * *

**Can Kulalu keep up his now earned winning streak?**

**What will happen in Round 2?**

**What will become of Joe Magtartus?**

**Who will Kulalu face next and will they be another enemy, or a friend willing to help him out?**

**And who is this mysterious stranger that has dragged him into this situation in the first place and what is the connection to their emblem?**

**Find out all this and more, next time on The Calling!**


End file.
